When the Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, the museum pieces are moved into federal storage at the famous Washington Museums. The centerpiece of the film will be bringing to life the Smithsonian Institution, which houses the world’s largest museum complex with more than 136 million items in its collections, ranging from the plane Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) flew on her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic and Al Capone’s (Jon Bernthal) rap sheet and mug shot to Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Fonzie’s jacket from Happy Days, the still from M*A*S*H and Archie Bunker’s lounge chair from All in the Family. With a forwarded resume, Larry (Ben Stiller) becomes another caretaker at the Smithsonian, where Kahmunrah, an evil Pharaoh will come to life with the reestablishing of a tablet as a magical force in the museum bringing the old exhibits (Such as Theodore Roosevelt and Dexter) and new exhibits (like General Custer and Al Capone) back to life, and in conflict with each other. Larry enlists the help of Amelia Earheart, who he develops a romantic interest in, and together they try to put everything back in order.

Similar ideas abound for this sequel, but even naysayers might admit that a better cast has been assembled around Ben Stiller for his second Washington, D.C. adventure. (It’s pretty amazing that Stiller has three active franchises going, if you believe reports that Little Fockers is getting made). Here’s a first look at the film, and a glimpse at how much Stiller has aged over the past couple years. P.S. Is it just me, or does Amy Adams seem kind of annoying as Amelia Earhart? Granted, she’s probably way less irritating than Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, who returns for the sequel (along with two handfuls of new faces), but pinched and snippy just aren’t her colors.

Rated PG for mild action and brief language.

Director: Shawn Levy
Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Release Date: 22 May 2009 (Indonesia & USA)
Genre: Action, Comedy

In the highly-anticipated sequel to ‘Madagascar,’ Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane–sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all–the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place…but is it better than their Central Park home?

Say what you will about the original’s primitive animation and whatnot, but it tallied up over $400 million in worldwide receipts, so this crack-a-lackin’ sequel comes as no surprise — but did it really require three years to come together? Maybe those psychotic penguins held out for more money. Maybe this time around the creative talent behind the camera will have more going on in the wild (something sorely missing from the first movie). And while we expect a big return here, honestly, we’re more primed for Dreamworks’ 2009 offering, Monster vs. Aliens.

Rated PG for some mild crude humor.